Rondocarton Minimizes Cluj Factory Capacity by 20%

2014-08-16 11:18:38

Cluj based company Rondocarton, corrugated cardboard producer and member of Austrian group Rondo Ganahl, announced that this year the factory in Cluj will operate at a smaller capacity, until new clients are brought into the fold. According to information provided by company reps, the annual production of the factory reached 30.000 tonnes and for this year the production was estimated at 24.000 tonnes.

Last year Rondocarton let go 20 employees so that at present the Cluj factory counts 159 employees as opposed to 179 in 2008. The total number of Rondo Ganahl employees in Romania is 223 people.

"Last year we had to let go 20 employees due to the fact that our production this year will be smaller than in 2006 and 2007. For this year we intend to maintain the number of employees at 160" declared, for ZF Transilvania, Claudia Mardan, HR director at Rondocarton.

Last year the company's turnover was estimated at 34,3 mil Euros ( 120,1 mil Lei) for the year 2008, a raise of 5% from last year. In 2007 the Cluj producer reached a turnover of 32,7 mil. Euros, a raise of 20% since the previous year. In 2006, the Cluj based company reached a turnover of 28,1 mil. Euros.

Last year Rondo Ganahl finalized a 38 mil. Euros investment in its second cardboard factory in Romania, in Targoviste. Company reps estimate that the new production centre in Targoviste will generate a turnover of 12 mil. Euros. The initial investment in the new factory in Targoviste, on a gross floor area of 18.000 sq m. and a total area of 120.000 sq m., will be recovered in five years.

In 2006 Rondocarton invested approximately 4 mil. Euros in order to raise the production capacity of the Cluj factory by 7%. Up until present time, the total investments in the factory situated in Cluj county, amount to approximately 20 mil. Euros.

Last year the Cluj factory owned a market share estimated at 18%, its main competitors being Romcarton, Dunapack and Ecopack. The company exports in countries such as Italy, Hungary, Switzerland, France, Serbia and The Republic of Moldova, its export in 2008 counting 30% of the company's turnover.

Chicken meat producer Agricola Bacau, beverage producer European Drinks, home appliances company Arctic, wine producer Murfatlar, Unilever ( food ) and Procter&Gamble are some of the most important clients of Rondocarton.

According to Rondocarton reps, demand for packaging dropped in the last months with 3% on average, due to cuts in production. The company's officials estimate that this year the market volume will drop 10 to 20% from 2008.

Rondocarton was founded in 1999 in Apahida, ,Cluj county, at present counting 159 employees. 64 people work in the second Rondo Ganahl factory in Romania, based in Targoviste. Austrian firm Rondo Ganahl Aktiengesellschaft owns 92% of Rondocarton, the rest of the shares being owned by various people in both Romania and Austria.

Last year the group counted over 1.000 employees and reached an annual turnover of over 200 mil. Euros. Ganahl Aktiengesellschaft, which has been active for over 60 years in the corrugated cardboard industry, also owns a paper factory, two corrugated cardboard factories and a paper recycling unit in Austria as well as a corrugated cardboard factory in Hungary. In 2008 Rondo Ganahl's business was estimated at 235 mil Euros.

Romanian market of corrugated cardboard products, estimated in 2008 at approximately 150 mil. Euros, is being claimed by eight producers. These have an annual total production of approximately 210.000 tonnes. 50% of the overall quantity is transformed by these packaging producers, with the rest being commercialized as corrugated cardboard sheets to other processing companies or to furniture producers.